The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1887-06-30
H0WARD'S LETTER.
4 VERY CANDID DISCOURSE UPoN
WOMEN AZ wORK-PE0PLE.

WOMEN AZ woRK-PDoPLE.
salssiadiss Described - Careless, lmpsr-
sinsnt end rnaceurats-Fsmals rels9ra-
phsrs Prenouaced neompstents--Proba-
by ~ Much % bs said ON the Other side.
Experience shows that . majority Of
the girls who find employment in stores
ere, first, unwilling to be known as work
people. They snin At the term wages,
and refuse to be recognized - sales
women, preferring the idiotic expression
"saleslady."
They are not women; !" they are ia
dies" and with them this difference
means great deal.
In the next place, they rarely enter an
occupation Of any sort with the inten-
ton Of remaining in It. To them 1t 10
temporary expctlient for paying their
board and for clothing themselves. A
beau is natural consequence, and It
needs no great knowledge Of human ma
ture to understand that . girl who has
beau hopes and expects in time to have
husband.
Az . rule, "salesladies'' are careless,
impertinent, inattentive.
Customers soon find that out, but en-
ployers know It long before customers
complain of It, and an adviser to whom
the best interests Of the people are q
matter Of thought would say to them,
IF you care to be regarded a. useful
employee, you must make yourself use-
full, and, in order to do 30, you must b
agreeable and attentive to our custom
ers." In any other line Of life an en-
ployee, Hoping for advancement in posi-
tion or salary, seeks to gain the favor
Of his employer by diligence, by In
dustry, by loyal service, and no other
way is this so well exhibited as in civil
and courteous treatment Of the patrons
Of the establishment in which the person
is employed.
Now do not intend to have anybody
say that am ungallant or rude or merci-
less or siding with employers against
women.
Like every other American born, have
reason to love, respect and admire women.
Therefore, speak Of things precisely
as l find them, and, If In any way I vary
from the exact measure Of truth, 1t win
be found upon examination that 1t is an
extenuation rather than an exaggeratioI
Of the manifold faults of salesladies, and
the younger children, girls, employed in
our large dry goods establishments. The
points made in this are, first, that women
employed in these stores do not regard
their service as permanent; and second,
this being the case, they become 80 mat
tentive and careless that their services
are Of but little value.
A grade above this class are those who
are employed in telegraphy, stenog-
raphy, typewriting and IS correspond
snts in mercantile houses. Years of ex-
perience and observation convince me
that women are of no use In telegraphy
except In the purely literary and COM
mercial branches Of telegraph compa-
nies; by which mean that they are COM
petent to file old dispatches, to answer
communications, to keep accounts and to
do what 10 technically known in that and
oil other occupations as Office work. But
you reply,"Do we not find in every town,
in every village, and in many cities, tele-
graph offices that are entirely run by
womeny" Unfortunately yes, and it
10 precisely with that branch Of
the service that I deal. I say
It is not at all to the discredit Of . young
lady who, being employed in telegraph
Office where there is not much business,
utilizes her spare time by sewing, read
ing, knitting, crocheting or talking with
her occasional visitor. From her point
Of view that is all right, but from the
standpoint of customer who uses the
wire because his business Is urgent, and
dispatch is absolutely necessary, the fact
that this young lady must be called from
her friend, her work of whatever kind,
means great deal
| 10 II not sof
| whose telegraph offices are in charge of
young women. In eight of every ten
offices you can find, instead Of one woman,
two-One the operator and the other q
visitor. Did you ever in your life see q
man In telegraph office read s dispatch
IN the hands of the operatorf never
did and have sent scores of thousands
of them, ranging from 100, 900 words at o
time down to three. have yet to find a
man In telegraph Office who was not
amenable to discipline. II he is inn
pertinent, II he is rude or uncivil or in
attentive, how easy to bring him to book
Ninety-nine times in hundred you can
do It yourself. The one-hundredth tins
an appeal to the superintendent brings
him to his senses.
l had brief experience in an Office not
block from my desk, within . month.
There are two receiving desks and two
instruments In that Office. I had occa
sion to send . dispatch uptown. took
It to the first. The lady was sewing q
button on her boot. Il struck me as
comical, but waited.
After awhile she sauntered toward
mo-
"Wil you have the kindness to hurry
| up and take this message p said /.
Looking at mo first with ineffable
scorn she next looked at my message,
and, after vouchsafng me another look,
said, 1.-THE other desk" did not know
then, and don't know now, why she
| sent me to the other desk, but she was
woman, and went across the hall 10
what 10 virtually another Office. Two
young ladies were sitting there busily
engaged, one reading letter, the Other
| uafan}n0 ThA raadfnU vuuat havA noan